Hi there,
I mostly use pdfs for all kind of documents. For my digital life I have a huge folder on my drive, which holds a large number of pdfs. I’m now wondering:
- I want to import the whole folder’s pdfs to DTPO
- while I’m on the go, I remotely add documents to this folder
- when I’m back home, can I simply import this folder again, without getting everything duplicate? (Does DTPO remembers what’s already imported? Much like dropbox Camera-Uploads does this)
Or what is the common workflow for this?
thx
andy
You could index the folder (see File > Index… or use drag & drop while pressing the Command-Option modifier keys) and update the indexed folder every then and now via File > Updated Indexed Items.
I see. But this feature doesn’t exist for already imported items? (That would exactly be what I need 
)
Export the documents that are already imported, put them in the ‘huge folder’ on your drive, and when you index that folder the documents will again be available in the database.
haha… great idea
But then I loose the ability to sync the database to another Mac (this is one of the main reasons to use DTPO - to keep everything in one place).
If you want sync you should import, not index. Do you want to keep your giant junk drawer intact? (I’m hoping not.)
Well you know… until everything is in place (using DTPO), I’d rather keep the junk drawer in place (I’m just a little scared, if it goes away 
)
AND: a huge folder full of pdfs has the advantage, that I can use the files locally from my Mac, but also access them from a windows-machine or my Kindle Fire.
I’m simply not confident about my future workflow and the implications when switching to DTPO… But I definitely want to find that out 
I understand the “wading in slowly” approach (though I don’t advocate it in the long term).
An option you could exercise is a folder action attached to a drop folder that would direct files to your junk drawer and to DEVONthink. I’m not a fan of the data redundancy but it might let you sleep a little better. (I don’t know how you’re accessing the junk drawer remotely now so I’m just imagining scenarios.)
Note that if this sounds okay and you’re not a Scripter, you may want to check out Hazel by Noodlesoft. I can’t legally advocate it (in case it blows up your house or something 
) but it may be helpful in this process. (Being a Scripter, I’d opt for some code but that’s me.)
Cheers!
last things first: I’m always opting for scripts, since that is more fun
Anyway, I’m adding data to the ‘junk’ folder (in fact: it’s not a junk folder, but a pdf-collection ) using these techniques:
- Copying receipts, official documents, etc… which I already get as pdf
- Scanning from my ScanSnap
- Things to remember or to keep (via Save to pdf)
- DAV or sftp when on the go
- via Email (there’s a super-secret email-address where I - or my super-secret friends - can send attachements for me to collect).
- remote scan’s (e.g. receipts when I’m out of town)
I will play with the software over the weekend using a dummy junk folder and see what I find.
Folder actions might not work, because then DTPO must be run all the times, which it surely doesn’t do. I was hoping for a feature which tracks folder automagically (somewhat like the ‘files to import’ folder of Eaglefiler), either when opening a database or when issuing a command to do so. Eaglefiler has a couple of advantages anyway, especially when it comes to tagging or showing multiple documents, whereas DTPO has this nifty Websharing option as well as the accompanying iPad.app.
In this regard:
Can I tag files when importing or do I need an AppleScript for that?
And can I somehow show tags in the list-columns?
And how can I show ALL files in a database?
)